


A suburb outside of Chicago. June, 1957.

by GlitterIbbur



Series: Historical Oneshots [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, F/M, actually multiple, also i listened to a bunch of 50's music and it was great, anyway the first one is a 50's former teacher/student thing, i did so much research for this, i looked up everything from 50's cars to slang to marriage bars to popular cologne to booster seats, it's really cute!, these are oneshots connected by history, they were gonna be vignettes but my first one was 2k words because I can't be succinct, trans!kara, which were terrifying btw it's a miracle anyone survived
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:43:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9457772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitterIbbur/pseuds/GlitterIbbur
Summary: So you know that whole soulmates-meeting-through-history thing? This is that. Kara and Lena will always have great chemistry no matter where and when they meet or who they are when they do.





	

Lena gritted her teeth so she wouldn’t scream and attract the nosy attention of nearby suburban housewives. She was standing in front of her car, glaring down at the inner workings under the popped hood.

“Why won’t you _start_ ,” she hissed. She’d always liked to know how things worked, but on her own terms and not while she was in a hurry to leave and start dinner.

A low rumble built as a motorcycle burned its way through the suburb. The rider had on a helmet and large aviator goggles that obfuscated their face from Lena’s vision. They pulled up next to her and turned the bike off. Lena crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

Nimble fingers pried off the goggles and then the helmet, revealing messy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Lena did a double-take—could it be? No, she looked so different back in her class, all sullen and low.

“Ms. Luthor!” The biker shook out her hair and grinned.

“Look at you, all fly,” Lena gestured up and down. “It’s nice to see you, Kara.”

And it was. Though they’d hardly ever said a word to each other, Lena was glad to see her former student looking so happy. Graduating had done well by the teenager; she was standing straighter and her cheeks were full and pink. Lena couldn’t remember if she’d ever seen her smile before, but she was now, her teeth white against her tan face. Her hair, cropped short, was sun-kissed. She was wearing blue dungarees, a soft white t-shirt and a leather jacket. She ran her fingers through her flyaway hair in an attempt to smooth it down.

“You too, Ms. Luthor. D’ya live here?”

“No, not at all,” Lena said. She looked around the pastel suburb disdainfully. “This is my mother’s house, actually. My car won’t start. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Ain't that a bite,” Kara frowned. She shrugged out of the jacket and Lena had to bite her lip when she saw how defined Kara’s biceps were. “I think so—my dad and I used to tinker with cars together.”

Lena stepped out of the way so her former student could peer into the engine.

“Oh, wow,” Kara breathed. “That’s some chariot you’ve got, Ms. Luthor.”

“Yes, well, it’s something when I can drive it,” Lena snapped. “You think, for the money I paid for a Century, I’d be able to use it more often than not.”  
  
“But she matches your eyes,” Kara’s grin was lopsided. “She’s a steady car, you just gotta treat her right. I’ll get her burning rubber again in no time.”

Lena hummed. She leaned against the door while Kara began to work.

“You know,” Kara said after a moment. “You were always a heart, Ms. Luthor. History classes were my favorite.”

Lena met Kara’s bashful eyes and she wanted to melt. “That’s sweet, thank you Kara.”

Lena looked up and watched the clouds darken the sky. God, she did not want to get caught in that.

“Are you going to college in the fall?” She asked, watching Kara’s back muscles ripple under her shirt.

“No, I don’t think so,” Kara said, taking a metal tube out and blowing on it. “I’m gonna work first, maybe travel—I heard that New York is really wild.”

“Well,” Lena brushed some imaginary dirt off her skirt when Kara caught her staring. “You were always a hardworking student and I’m sure you’ll do great wherever you wind up.

“Shucks,” Kara said, slamming the hood of the car down and giving it an encouraging pat. “Try ‘er out now. I won’t split; I made a promise to get her running and I will.”

“Golly,” Lena drawled as she walked around the car to get inside. When she glanced over at Kara, her cheeks were tinged pink. With a smirk, Lena stomped on the clutch and twisted the key. Her car rumbled to life. Kara bounced on the balls of her feet, beaming. Lena turned the car off and stepped out, closing the door behind her with a satisfying _crack_.

“You’re too much,” she said, grabbing Kara’s hand. “Thank you again.”

Kara looked at Lena’s hand like she couldn’t believe it was there. She opened her mouth to say something when a throat cleared behind them.

“Hello there,” Lillian Luthor, Lena’s mom, simpered. She was holding a bundle of cream-colored, frilly fabric. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“She’s a former student, Mom,” Lena said, taking the bundle from her. Her face was stoic until she saw the pale green eyes staring back at her. “Hi sweetie.”

Kara watched Lena free the baby with wide eyes, subtly cleaning her grease-stained hands off with a bandana. “Sh-she was havin’ car trouble, Ma’am.”

“Hmm,” Lillian regarded Kara distastefully. Her lip curled.

“It’s all better now, Mom,” Lena said, flaring her nostrils. “Thank you for taking Lindy inside while I got this sorted out.”

Lillian harrumphed and walked away, her heels clipping on the sidewalk.

“I'm sorry, for her,” Lena said, turning to give Kara her full attention.

“Is she always like that?” Kara began wringing her shirt. “She seemed pretty frosted.”

“It wasn't personal,” Lena fibbed. Her mom was not a kind person; she was rigid in her propriety and brusque towards anyone who didn’t fit the mold. Kara, with her short hair and dungarees, was certainly not Lillian’s cup of tea, but she sure was Lena’s. “Here, come say hello. This is Linda, but we call her Lindy. Say hi to Kara, Lindy.”

Lena wiggled the finger that Lindy had grasped so she could wave at Kara. Kara waved back shyly. Lena pried her finger away and stroked her daughter’s soft, peach-fuzzed cheek. The infant smiled up at Kara, showing off her four teeth before sticking her chubby fist into her mouth. Lena sighed and tugged the fist away from her daughter’s mouth, making her chuckle when she pretended to eat it.

“I didn’t know you were a mom, Ms. Luthor,” Kara said, her voice soft. She was watching them with something that looked suspiciously like longing.

Lena paused and Lindy began to fuss. With a frown, Lena bounced her baby on her hip. “Yes, well. If the school found out, I wouldn’t have a job.”

“What about your husband? Doesn’t he have a job?”

Lena’s chest burned. “He’s not in the picture.”

“Oh...” Kara kicked her foot. She looked up and watched Lena shift Lindy in her arms. The rattle Lindy was holding in her other hand fell out and Kara dove to catch it. She handed it back to the baby with a small smile. Lindy took the toy and looked startled. She blinked twice and then gazed up at Kara in awe.

“She likes you,” Lena said. She wound one of her daughter’s curls around her finger and regarded Kara with a raised eyebrow. Kara had bent over and was pulling faces at the infant. Lindy gurgled and stretched her little hand out towards her.

“Do you want to hold her?”

“Oh, gosh, can I?” It was Kara’s turn to look awestruck at Lena. Lena hummed in affirmation and slid her daughter into Kara’s waiting arms. She adjusted Kara’s grip and took a step back, smoothing her hands over her skirt. It was always nerve-wracking, having someone new hold Lindy, but she looked secure in Kara’s arms. Something inside Lena twisted, watching the pair as Lindy babbled and Kara nodded along like she was listening to her talk.

“Do you want to be a mother someday, Kara?” Lena asked with a small smile. She’d meant for the question to be encouraging, but one look at Kara’s forlorn face made her smile fall.  
  
“Oh, um, gosh, no, I don’t think so, Ms. Luthor.” Kara’s eyes were misty.

“Why? You’re a natural!” Lena inclined her head towards the pair, which only seemed to make Kara more uncomfortable.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Kara swallowed thickly, “I just don’t think I’m ever going to be so lucky.” She drew Lindy close and rested her cheek against her downy curls.

“You’re young, you have time,” Lena flipped her hand. “I’m sure you’ll be a lovely mom some day.”

Kara’s eyes were red now. She squeezed Lindy to her chest once more and then passed her tenderly to Lena.

“It was good to see you, Kara,” Lena said, tucking her daughter more securely in her arms. She frowned, trying to figure out what had snuffed Kara’s light. They were standing so close now that Lena could see she was shaking, and she could smell her—lemon, cardamom and cedar, like the cologne Lena almost bought for her husband before he abandoned her and Lindy.

“You too, Ms. Luthor,” Kara said, ducking her head. She stayed standing close to Lena and played with a loose thread on her shirt, winding it around and around the tip of her finger. Lena nodded, balancing Lindy with one hand while she wrenched open the door with the other. After strapping Lindy into the booster, which wasn’t more than a laundry hamper with a tiny vinyl seat, she straightened up and stood by Kara again.

“Kara,” Lena murmured. Kara stopped twisting and looked up. Her eyes were shiny and deep blue, but with a hint of steel that betrayed an immense inner strength. “I don’t know if you talk to anyone at school, now that you’ve graduated, but should you ever: please don’t tell them about Lindy. I like my job and want to keep it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Kara breathed, her eyebrows crinkled in concern. Her eyes flickered, searching Lena’s, and whatever she saw there made Lena feel naked. She crossed her arms over her chest and almost wished her daughter was there to deflect whatever was happening between them. After a moment, Kara took a deep breath and asked:

“M-may I take you out sometime, Ms. Luthor? I know joint in the city, a real hip place, with good food and a band on Fridays.”

Lena’s heart lurched and her body tingled. Could she? Kara wasn’t her student anymore, and it had been so long since someone looked at Lena like that, with wonder and something a little darker just below the surface. _Desire_.

“I’d like that very much, Kara,” Lena said. She uncrossed her arms so she could put her hand on Kara’s forearm. “But please—my name is Lena.”

“All right, Ms—Lena.”

It shouldn’t feel so great to hear her name on Kara’s lips.

“But, please,” Kara looked like she might faint. She took a shuddering breath, and then said: “If you don’t… I don’t… if it doesn’t… I’d really like it if you called me Benny.” She screwed up her eyes and braced herself, like she was waiting for Lena to attack her. The realization drew Lena in two directions: part of her wanted to take a step back and the other wanted to wrap her arms around him.

“You’re too much, Benny,” she said finally. The name didn’t sound as strange on her tongue as she thought it would. She put her hand on Benny’s shoulder and squeezed, staring up at him until he looked at Lena. He was shaking.

After a moment, Lena pulled away. She dug in her purse for a pen and something to write on.

“You give me a bell when you think of it, all right?” She scribbled her phone number and address on an old receipt before handing it to Benny. “I’ll wait by the phone for it, don’t fade out on me now. And I expect a ride on the back of your motorcycle when you come by.”

Benny looked from the receipt in his hand to Lena, beaming so radiantly Lena felt like she was basking in sunlight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! For next time, are y'all more interested in a Lena-as-Cleopatra or 70's punk? Let me know in the comments!


End file.
